


Asking Is Important

by Hadrian_Pendragons



Category: Ueki no Housoku | Law of Ueki, モブサイコ100 | Mob Psycho 100
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Anxiety, Canon-Typical Violence, Crack-ish? But not really, Dad Reigen Adopts Teru, Dimple is around, Except none of these teens deal with emotions normally, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Grief/Mourning, M/M, Mob makes friends and learns to deal with emotions slowly, POV Kageyama "Mob" Shigeo, References to Depression, Reigen shows signs of ADHD and he's a mood, Slow Burn, Ueki Kousuke Becomes A Nature Cryptid And I Don't Know How That Happened, Updates Twice A Month, Wholesome, Yes it's a crossover pairing with a really old obscure anime and it's a slow burn have fun with that, You COULD go watch LoU to understand the context, idk where he is or what he's doing but he's around, lots of friendships, or you can be as confused as Mob and find out when Kosuke decides to spill the beans, what's a timeline, your choice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:20:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26554978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hadrian_Pendragons/pseuds/Hadrian_Pendragons
Summary: Shigeo Kageyama hadn't had friends before. So he definitely has no idea how he somehow made one, or how normal friends be... well, friends. Good for him that the one he made wasn't exactly normal, anyway, nevermind the not-esper powers he possessed.OrShigeo learns to value asking, even if it's hard sometimes.
Relationships: Dimple & Hanazawa Teruki, Hanazawa Teruki & Kageyama "Mob" Shigeo, Kageyama "Mob" Shigeo & Mezato Ichi & Ueki Kosuke, Kageyama "Mob" Shigeo & Reigen Arataka, Kageyama "Mob" Shigeo & Ueki Kousuke, Kageyama "Mob" Shigeo/Ueki Kousuke, Kageyama Ritsu & Kageyama "Mob" Shigeo, Mezato Ichi & Kurata Tome
Comments: 4
Kudos: 19





	1. Meet the Cryptid

**Author's Note:**

> So... I wrote this first chapter a year or so ago. It's been revised, but not a lot was changed, so chapter two might feel a little different style-wise lol. It started out as a vent-ish fic, then I found it again and went... what the hell. I shipped them a year ago and I still ship them now.
> 
> But of course, throughout the entirety of this fic, they've just been fucking with me and shown exactly how chaotic they can be. And dense. Have I mentioned dense? God they're best friends and don't understand feelings.
> 
> You do not have to know Law of Ueki, because well, Shigeo sure doesn't and he's making it just fine. All will be revealed eventually, probably in the most chaotic way possible.
> 
> Finally... well, I hope you have as much fun reading as I have writing this. I'll do my best, and I hope you enjoy! <3

The sky was always able to calm him down.

No matter if it were the star-strewn darkness that stretched on into forever, the wide blue expanse plastered with white fluff, or the stormy roiling of rain that pelted the earth.

The sky was constant, a window away, uncaring of the struggles that went on in the world below it, unchanging and at peace with its own existence.

Peace was something Shigeo longed for. Peace of mind. Peace at heart. To be at peace with himself for once, instead of stumbling through this up and down slingshot of emotions with no clue of how to establish a semblance of balance. It was frustrating. So, so frustrating, how e jumped from one emotion to the other. So much so that even the lock and key he kept on them wore down under the stress.

He took a deep breath, fingers fiddling with the grass beneath him, and watched one of those fluffy clouds pass by the sun, the brief relief of shade cooling him momentarily. Up above, on the sidewalk above the slope, people continued about their day, to work or school or wherever it was their attention was demanded.

Below, the small creek babbled on its way.

He wondered if Ritsu was done with his student council meeting yet.

He wondered if Shishou was busy with a client right now.

He wondered if he should just get up and go home.

There was a jumble of feelings and emotions that cluttered together with each of those wonders, half-formed plans to call someone or just stand up and walk up the slope to the sidewalk, but his limbs didn’t really want to move, and the warmth of the afternoon lulled him into a sense of security he couldn’t normally find surrounded by people. It was calm, and if he just sat here and focused on the grass in his fingers, the water of the creek, the people passing by, and let those thoughts and emotions pass by unacknowledged, he could almost call it peace.

“Hey, could I sit here?”

His eyes snapped open, even as a burst of adrenaline kicked his limbs into gear and led him to a half-sitting position. Above him was a boy with dark green hair and curious grey eyes, and Shigeo wondered how he could’ve missed someone getting this close.

He tried to wrangle his surprise and panic back into something manageable, “Um, yes?”

Then he ran the boy’s words through his head again, realizing that his response meant an affirmative, and felt tiredness settle into him as the boy laid his backpack aside and sat a few feet away from Shigeo.

The boy didn’t say anything else. He simply laid back, hands behind his head and eyes closed, quiet but for the deep sigh he let out. Shigeo watched him a few moments, calming down now that he realized conversation wasn’t mandatory, and laid back again.

The sky was still there. The cloud had moved away, and he put a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun. His thoughts moved through so many different conversation starters, formulating answers to anything the other might say. A breeze blew over the slope. People continued to walk overhead. The creek continued to flow. And the boy beside him didn’t break the silence.

Eventually, his thoughts moved the back of his mind again, the new presence falling away from importance. In fact, Shigeo thought he might feel a bit less restless, knowing someone was with him, not demanding anything from his frazzled mind, not even his name.

He found himself settling back in, a cool breeze blowing his hair across his forehead, bringing a bit of relief in the heat. He stayed fully aware of the presence beside him, but for once, having someone beside him wasn’t demanding, wasn’t stressful, wasn’t throwing him into a stumble of thoughts and spoken words that he couldn’t always piece together correctly.

For once he wasn’t sitting here and existing with his thoughts alone, even if he wasn’t voicing them at all, and that was… that was okay.

He didn’t know what might be going through the other boy’s mind, or if he was even awake, but that was okay, too. It was nice just to have some company in the silence, and somehow, he knew the other felt the same. Which was strange. Shigeo didn’t normally assume what others were thinking—but surely he wasn’t imagining it, right?

Shigeo watched the clouds as the sun began to fall in the sky, sinking lower and lower. He wasn’t entirely concerned about it. Reigen had given him today off, and Ritsu was probably busy with his schoolwork, and his mom wouldn’t be making dinner for another few hours. He had his phone if anyone needed him, so it wasn’t too big of a concern.

Eventually, though, the boy took a breath. Shigeo glanced up as the boy lifted himself up to stare down at the creek, not quite frowning.

He glanced back at Shigeo, then back at the creek. “Thanks. For letting me sit here.”

Shigeo shrugged. He waited a moment for the words he wanted to settle in his mind, “Thanks for sitting with me. It… helped.”

The boy nodded, like he understood, “Yup. It did.”

Shigeo sat up beside the boy, watching his eyes move through feelings he couldn’t quite specify, though they never looked up at him.

“I’m Kageyama Shigeo,” he said slowly, wanting to introduce himself. “Most people just call me Mob, though.”

The boy finally glanced up again, eyebrows raised in a physical mirror of the surprise Shigeo himself felt. It wasn’t often he felt like starting conversation.

The boy nodded, “I’m Ueki Kosuke. Most people call me…” He trailed off for a moment, blinking. Then he lifted a hand to the back of his head, “Actually, I don’t really have a nickname. Unless you count the one Onimon gave me that one time…”

Shigeo nodded back, letting those words fall away. He could tell Ueki hadn’t exactly meant to say them aloud. He understood. “Are you a student at Salt Middle?”

“I’m starting this week, actually. My family moved here.” His eyes fell to the river again. “My dad and I… decided it would be good to move somewhere else. Do something new.” His eyes flickered up once. “Does Salt Middle have a gardening club?”

Shigeo frowned, “I… don’t know. I don’t really pay attention to clubs. Sorry.”

“It’s ok,” Ueki shrugged. “This is a really nice spot.”

“I like it,” Shigeo agreed. He pulled his bag over and checked the time. His brother had sent him a text earlier, letting him know he’d left school.

_ Do something new _ .

“Um,” he stuttered, tossing the words out before he could overthink it, “Do you… do you want to meet back here tomorrow? I’ve got an afterschool job, so I might not be able to stay long, but I could stay a little bit.”

Ueki blinked and lifted his head up again. It took a moment, but a smile spread across his face, “Sure. Sounds fun.”

Shigeo felt his own lips twitch back.

He wondered… if this was what having friends was like.

* * *

The next day, Shigeo got a call from his shishou halfway to the slope.

“Mob! You busy? I’ve got a little job I’d like your help with.”

“A job? Right now?” Shigeo felt his heart sink.

“Yeah, it’s in an abandoned building three streets down from the office. I can send you the location. There’s a spirit here I’d like you to take care of for me.”

Shigeo looked to the ground, mind whirling. He thought about his promise to Ueki. He’d have to take a left and go away from the creek to get anywhere near the office. But he didn’t want to not show up. He couldn’t. But he also knew he should go help Shishou on the job.

“Shishou, I…” He swallowed. “I can’t come right now. I’ve got to meet someone, but I can come as soon as I finish.”

“All right, that’s fine,” Reigen said, and Shigeo felt relief run through him. “Just make it quick! It isn’t good to keep the client waiting.”

“Thank you,” he said, “I’ll be there soon!”

“See you, then.”

The call ended. Shigeo let out a breath, feeling the distress that had been building melt away. Shishou had said it was fine. He would get there as fast as he could, but first he had to meet with Ueki.

He continued on his way, if a bit faster than before.

* * *

Ueki wasn’t there.

Shigeo shuffled on his feet. Nervousness made him glance around five times before he really stopped to  _ look  _ at the people around the slope and sidewalk, in case he overlooked the head of green hair. He didn’t see Ueki.

The minutes ticked by, and his chest tightened. He had to get to his job. He couldn’t wait. Maybe he should have specified a time? Or had he been mistaken yesterday? He knew he wasn’t the most pleasant person to be around, what with how he didn’t talk much, but he had been sure Ueki hadn’t minded…

Had the one time he’d thought he had read the situation right actually been all in his head?

_ "Just make it quick! It isn’t good to keep the client waiting.” _

He had to go, soon. Shishou was waiting on him. But he couldn’t leave. Not yet.

He checked his phone for the umpteenth time, and again and again until another five minutes had passed, and he couldn’t stay any longer without being inordinately late to the job.

He cast a look around one more time and turned to leave, his chest heavy.

* * *

The job didn’t last long. The walk to the office, however, was slow and anxious.

Shigeo kept his head down. Reigen didn’t ask anything, though he did keep sneaking glances. Shigeo knew he was probably worrying his shishou, but… he couldn’t keep yesterday’s conversation from replaying in his head, couldn’t help imagining that if he had said something else, Ueki might not have blown him off today.

He couldn’t help but wonder, once again, why he couldn’t just understand people. Or why he misunderstood so often.

When they finally reached the office and Reigen gave him his pay, he asked, “Shishou, am I… am I not pleasant to be around?”

Reigen blinked and dropped the three hundred yen into Shigeo’s palms, “What do you mean?”

“I thought… that I had made a friend, yesterday, but he didn’t show up where we were going to meet today.”

“Well, that was a crappy thing to do,” his shishou leaned back in his chair. “You’ll learn that you aren’t going to be able to get along with everyone, Mob, but honestly, if the guy wasn’t going to come, he should’ve just said so.”

He couldn’t get along with everyone. That was advice he had heard in passing before. Had he really not gotten along with Ueki?

“Why don’t we go do that other job I had lined up, huh? It’s a little outside of town.” Reigen offered, “Don’t think too hard about it.”

Shigeo hummed and nodded, though he doubted he could just stop thinking about it.

* * *

The evil spirit in the tunnel wasn’t all that difficult to deal with. A group of ghosts even managed to move on, and Shigeo was honestly thankful that he hadn’t needed to exorcise them.

Dinner with Reigen was fine. The disparity between the amount of pork his shishou got and the amount he let Shigeo get had him frowning, but he kept his mouth shut. It wasn’t that big of a deal, he told himself, eating his food without protest. Shishou would regret eating so much later, anyway.

He thanked Shishou for the food, said goodbye, and began the walk home.

He turned down a street and gave himself until he reached the end of the block to decide where to go.

The slope would be to his left. The odds Ueki was there were slim to none, but… it bothered him. He hadn’t been able to figure out what had happened, and if Ueki had really left, or showed up later and missed him, there was no reason for him to stick around.

Home was to the right. It was late, but while it wasn’t unusual for Shigeo to stay out to this time, the walk to the slope would be further out of the way than usual. He’d already told his parents he was on his way home. They would probably call and ask where he was as soon as he made it there.

The turn came up.

He really should go home.

His feet turned left.

* * *

It was dark that night. The stars, however, lit up the sky in a cacophony of twinkling lights. He followed the sidewalk, uncertain but unwilling to turn back. He really should go home. It was silly to think that he’d run across Ueki at all. He wouldn’t.

There was… something different in the air, though. As he got closer to the slope, he could tell there was  _ something  _ radiating outward, wilting the grass, rippling through the air and spreading through every bit of nature nearby. It was unsettling, and Shigeo wondered if a spirit had appeared.

Except, he didn’t feel the aura of any kind of spirit he’d encountered before. Those auras always felt cold, bound, angry or sad or any mesh of negative emotion that could lead them to lingering on. No, this aura was anything  _ but  _ cold. It flared out, like a blooming flower, and if Shigeo looked hard enough, he thought he might even be able to see it shimmer through the air.

And it  _ trembled.  _ Shaken and tired, even as it attempted to reel itself back in, to hide away and stop affecting the things around it. Not necessarily scared, but definitely frustrated.

Shigeo’s hands twitched, remembering all the bent spoons and flying objects that came when he lost his grip on his feelings. That’s what this felt like -like an out of control esper.

Shigeo picked up his pace.

The creek raced faster the closer he got to the aura. The wind picked up, the grass wilted more, and if Shigeo didn’t have his own barrier up, he was certain he wouldn’t be able to reach the grassy hill below the sidewalk.

And there, curled in on himself in a circle of dead grass and heavy wind, was Ueki.

Shigeo’s heart beat faster, and his thoughts began to race. What was wrong? Was Ueki an esper? Was he hurt? How long had he been here?

Any and all worries about getting along with people flew from his mind. Shigeo dropped his bag and strengthened his barrier a bit and started the descent down the slope.

As he got closer, the wind died. The energy pulled back like it was pulling away from him. He couldn’t see Ueki’s face, buried in his knees as it was, but he could see the shaking of the boy’s shoulders, the tightness in his hands that pulled his legs close, as if he could curl up and hide away forever.

When he was a foot away, the wind died completely. Up above, he heard his phone start to ring. That was probably his mother or Ritsu looking for him.

He let it ring and took a deep breath, but couldn’t find any words at all, even after the ringtone died.

He stood there in silence, unsure of what he should do, not knowing how to help or if his help was even wanted. He should’ve just gone home. What was the point in being here if he wasn’t of any use?

Ueki shifted, just a bit, and his voice sounded strained, “… Sorry.”

Shigeo stood there a moment longer. He didn’t know what to say. Didn’t know what was wrong. But did he really have to say anything at all?

His heart stopped pounding in his ears, and he stepped forward and sat down right beside Ueki. The green haired boy was still shaking, so he lifted his hand and hesitantly placed it on Ueki’s shoulder. Ueki tensed, and Shigeo panicked for a second, wondering if that was something he shouldn’t have done, before the shaking turned into deep, halting breaths.

The aura was completely suppressed now, though the effects of its wild lashing remained. Shigeo kept his hand where it was, even as his phone began to ring again.

When it stopped, Ueki lifted his head a bit, looking despondently at the brown, dry grass. “I, um… kind of fell asleep earlier. Missed you, I guess. Sorry.”

“It’s ok,” Shigeo said. It was completely fine. Ueki hadn’t just ditched him, and that was a relief.

“I meant to bring a snack to share,” Ueki continued. “Dad was still unpacking when I woke up, and I was going to leave right away, but I…”

He took a breath. A few minutes passed.

“My… my dad and I moved here… because we thought it might be better to… get away from everything.” He explained. “My… my sister, she… we had her funeral just a week ago.”

Shigeo looked to the river. He imagined losing Ritsu. His hand tightened on Ueki’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” he said. For the fact Ueki had lost someone. For how hard it must be on Ueki and his dad. For a lot of things that he couldn’t really put into words.

“Yeah,” Ueki said, nodding into his knees. “I just… I just forget, sometimes, she’s not there. And I remembered that today was the day I usually go to visit her, because she was going to nursing school, and… I got here, and I just…”

“It’s ok,” Shigeo repeated. He remembered blood, injured high schoolers, his brother lying on the ground, the panic and fear and grief that overwhelmed him that day. He… he tried to imagine what it would be like, feeling that every day.

His hair started to lift from his forehead, so he shoved those thoughts away.

Ueki shifted under his hand, and Shigeo let go. Ueki reached out and placed his palm flat against the dry earth. His eyes closed, and for a second, Shigeo glimpsed that aura once again, bright and vaguely greenish gold and smelling almost like the mulch his mother used to plant flowers, earthy and warm and fresh.

From Ueki’s hand, the blades of grass sprung up, one by one, quietly rejuvenating under the starlight until Shigeo was sitting on the cool green slope once again.

“You’re an esper?” He asked, unable to keep the question to himself.

Ueki raised an eyebrow, eyes still a bit wet and cheeks red, “… no? Esper?”

“People who can use ESP,” Shigeo said. He lifted his hand. Down below, blobs of water from the creek began to float upwards, splashing back down with a thought. Ueki watched with wide eyes.

“… kind of like Liho’s powers…” he muttered to himself. “No, at least, I don’t think it’s ESP. It… feels different.”

Shigeo nodded. He could agree with that at least. The aura Ueki had was something… stranger than that of spirits, or even his own. He didn’t know what it was, but it wasn’t ESP.

“Hey, Kageyama?” Ueki asked. Shigeo looked back to him. “… Sorry, again. For being late. And… and thanks for coming.”

Shigeo looked down at the grass. Listened to the bubbling of the creek. Let his gaze lift up to the starry sky.

He still didn’t know what to say, but… maybe he didn’t have to say anything. Ueki leaned back to look at the sky with him. Shigeo let his fingers curl around the fresh blades of grass.

It wasn’t peace. He could still feel the tension and grief coming from Ueki, even without his aura announcing it to the world. It was calm, though. Calmer now than when he’d arrived.

Shigeo rather liked the calm that came when sitting here with Ueki.

“Ueki-kun,” he said, rolling the question over in his mind. “Are we friends?”

“Huh?” Ueki blinked and looked at him. “Yeah. We’re friends.”

Shigeo hummed. “I… haven’t had any friends before.”

Something flickered through Ueki’s eyes, but Shigeo couldn’t even begin to guess what it meant. It made a smile stretch across Ueki’s face again, though, so Shigeo didn’t think it was bad.

“I had some friends back at my old town,” he said. “You’re my first friend in Seasoning City, though.”

“Really?”

“Yup. I’ll be starting school in a couple of days, too. Then we can hang out a lot more.” He pouted, “I’ve got to help Dad finish with the unpacking, so I might not be able to come here tomorrow, though…”

Shigeo nodded. “Then… I’ll see you when you start school?”

Ueki grinned, his shoulders looking lighter, “Definitely! Just, uh, don’t worry if I’m a little late, okay?”

Shigeo looked away, a little embarrassed at how much he’d been bothered by Ueki not showing up today. How had Ueki known? “Okay.”

At that moment, Shigeo’s ringtone filled the air, startling the silence around them.

They shared a look.

“Guess we should head home,” Ueki said.

“Yeah,” Shigeo agreed. Ritsu was probably worried now. He’d missed two calls already.

They stood at the same time, and Ueki answered his phone as Shigeo climbed the slope to get his own.

They waved to each other and went their separate ways.

Despite the scolding he was sure he’d be getting for not getting home soon, Shigeo’s feet felt almost lighter.

Around him, the smidgeons of nature that poked through the pavement of the city seemed to glow.

It wasn’t until he got home that Shigeo realized he had told someone, for the first time without any anxiety, that he was an esper.


	2. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First name basis already, huh?

“You’re up early, Shigeo!”

Shigeo descended the stairs, yawning wide and rubbing at his eyes. His mother sat at the table with a morning cup of coffee. Shigeo knew his mother was the first one up every morning, followed by Ritsu, then their father, then Shigeo last. If it weren’t for his family, he would probably sleep in often.

Shigeo nodded blearily as his mother stood. He sat at the table, and she placed a glass of milk in front of him. He drank it, the cold waking his brain, and placed the glass down.

His mom sat and picked up her coffee again. They sat in silence, and Shigeo thought maybe it was a little awkward. His mother never pushed him into conversation if he didn’t want to, and she was smiling, but the silence still felt weird to him. 

His eyes dropped to his lap.

But what could he fill it with? He fidgeted in his seat. Was there anything he wanted to say? Or ask? Is that why he felt awkward? Did his mother even want to speak right now? Did he?

“Shigeo, do you want more milk?”

He looked up to find his mother watching his glass float over the table.

“Um-”

The glass suddenly plummeted from a foot in the air and, by miracle, landed in the same position it had been. Shigeo was thankful it didn’t roll onto the floor and break. His mother giggled.

“I should go ahead and start on breakfast, then. Was there something you wanted to do before school, Shige?”

She refilled his glass, moved to the refrigerator to get the eggs and lit the stove while Shigeo thought about why he was up so early.

“Mom… what do friends do?”

He thought she might start asking questions, since Shigeo had never really brought up friends before, but she doesn’t. His mother cracked two eggs at once—something Shigeo always thought was cool and wanted to learn how to do—and let the whites and yolks fall into the pan.

“Well, friends do all kinds of things. It depends on what you both like or want to try together.”

“What do friends like?”

She giggled again, and Shigeo felt his ears burn, thinking back on his questions. 

“You have to ask your friend, unless you’ve developed telepathy recently.” She paused and looked at him while her other hand scrambled the eggs in the pan. “... have you?”

“No.”

She sighed and popped some bread into the toaster.

“Well, even if you did, just remember it isn’t polite to read people’s minds without asking!” She nodded to the pan. “Do you want me to tell you about what I did with my friends?”

He looked at the table and thought. Would some examples help?

“Mmhm.”

“Well, Taka-kun and I both liked cooking, so we would share recipes and cook together,” she started, though Shigeo didn’t know who Taka-kun was. “We still talk on the phone sometimes, actually! And Maki-chan and I would play different games she brought over every weekend. We actually had to sneak them into my room, because my parents didn’t like me playing video games.” She smiled and slid the eggs onto a plate at the same moment the toast popped up. She placed the plate in front of him, beside the glass of milk, and placed a fork in his hand. He scooped some up and took a bite, and his mother patted him on the head.

“Does that help some, Shigeo?”

He chewed slowly, turning his mother’s words over in his head. So it was… doing fun things together? Shigeo wondered if Ueki would want to learn to cook with him, or if he even liked cooking and video games. Ueki had mentioned gardening, too. He really would have to ask. 

He swallowed and nodded. “Thank you.”

“It’s no trouble, Shigeo,” she went back to the stove.

Shigeo finished his breakfast and went back upstairs to get dressed for school. He ran into Ritsu on the way, who squinted at him with several blinks. 

“Nii-san…?”

“Good morning, Ritsu,” he said as he passed him.

He didn’t know if he would meet Ueki before school, but he still felt bad about missing him by the river, so he resolved to get there early and wait for him. He dressed, double checked that his homework was packed, and hopped down the stairs to find his parents and brother eating breakfast.

“I’m going early,” he told them quietly. His mother smiled and handed him his lunch, his father blinked and waved, and his brother asked, “This early?”

Shigeo shrugged, ducking into his uniform, “I woke up early.”

“... okay. Be careful, I’ll see you there?”

Shigeo nodded and went to pull his shoes on at the door.

He wondered if Ritsu would like Ueki.

* * *

He waited in front of the school, waved at Ritsu when he appeared, and tried not to catch anyone’s eye while he looked for Ueki. When Ueki didn’t show up in time for his first class to start, Shigeo decided to look for him during lunch.

He made it through the morning quietly, looking through the window when he got the chance. He never saw him enter the building, and couldn’t feel that odd not-esper aura that followed Ueki, so he didn’t arrive when Shigeo wasn’t looking. He wondered where he was. Did he sleep in again? Or run into some trouble? Maybe Shigeo should have asked for his phone number. When did friends exchange phone numbers? He should have asked his mother.

When lunch came, he carried his to the front hall and sat on a bench to wait. 

He lifted some rice to his mouth just as someone down the hall screamed.

It startled him, and he dropped his chopsticks into his lunchbox, staring down the hall as two girls came running past.

“Disgusting!”

“Stay away from us!”

“I just wanted to know the way to the principal’s office!” Shigeo heard a familiar voice call after them, and around the corner came the green-haired Ueki.

Except, he was covered head to toe in mud.

“Oh! Kageyama!” Ueki waved, completely unconcerned. “Sorry I’m late. Is it lunch already?”

Shigeo blinked and nodded. “Um… what happened…?” He pointed to Ueki’s… everything. Ueki looked down as if just realizing he was a mess.

“Oh, yeah,” he shrugged. “One of the ladies that lives next to us had a garden and needed some help carrying potting soil around and planting. I accidentally fell in the flower beds. Maybe I should have gone home and changed first…”

That didn’t explain why it was  _ everywhere,  _ but Shigeo decided that if Ueki wasn’t concerned, it couldn’t be that big of a deal.

“Oh yeah!” Ueki slapped his forehead, sending brown droplets around the hall. “Do you know where the principal’s office is?”

Shigeo nodded and began packing up his lunch. He could finish it later. 

“Thanks!” Ueki smiled, following behind him when he started down the hallway. They walked quietly. Shigeo was reminded of this morning and the conversation he had with his mother.

“Um… Ueki-kun?”

“Yeah?”

“You like to garden?”

Ueki’s eyes lit up, “Yeah! I was thinking of planting some trees in the local park if I could get permission. I used to do that in my old town.”

“You like trees?” Shigeo paused after he said it, and backtracked because it sounded kind of dull. “Um…”

“Yup!” Ueki smiled. “Trees are super cool and useful.”

Useful? Shigeo supposed so. They did keep the air clean, after all. And they were used to make paper, and build buildings. 

“Do you like to garden, Kageyama?”

“Um…” Shigeo shrugged. “I never really tried before.”

“Do you want to try with me?”

Shigeo blinked, felt something in his chest lighten, and nodded.

Ueki grinned underneath his mud-caked face. “Awesome! I’m gonna ask to plant some trees right after school then, and we can do it this weekend.”

Shigeo found himself looking forward to it.

They reached the principal’s office, and Ueki waved, “Thanks, Kageyama! I’ll see you in class, probably.”

Shigeo smiled and waved back, “Yeah.” Ueki knocked on the door, and Shigeo turned to go back to class.

Then he heard the principal’s booming voice, and felt bad for not remembering Ueki could get in trouble for being so muddy and late.

Ueki showed up to class considerably less muddy—only his face, hair, and arms still had smears on them—but in a uniform that didn’t quite fit him properly. Shigeo realized the principal must have given him a spare. That was nice of him.

Then he realized Ueki was in his class and felt his lips twitch upward.

“I’m Ueki Kosuke,” Ueki bowed to the class. “Nice to meet you.”

He stood up and waved to Shigeo, but was directed to a seat in the back of the class, where the only free desk was. The teacher continued the lesson—math, a subject that made Shigeo’s head hurt—and Shigeo glanced back at Ueki to find him listening intently, scribbling furiously in his notebook.

It kind of surprised Shigeo, how hard Ueki was working when he seemed like a really laid back person. He looked back at his own notebook and started listening a little harder. Maybe they could study together? Friends did that, right? He heard the other students asking each other all the time.

When classes ended and Shigeo packed up, he waited for Ueki by the door. Ueki was still scribbling, but slowing down, eyebrows scrunched up and tongue poking out as he thought on the last question their teacher had given them. Shigeo had decided to do it for homework, like the rest of the students, but Ueki looked determined to finish it.

He eventually stopped, eyes moving over the page, and sat back with a sigh. He caught Shigeo’s eye and smiled, “Ah, you waited!”

Shigeo nodded as Ueki packed his things away, shoving them into the bag without much organization. He hopped up, walked to the door and asked, “Are you doing anything after school?”

Shigeo nodded, “My afterschool job…”

“Oh yeah, you said you worked!” Ueki nodded to himself. “What kind of job is it?”

“I Shishou’s assistant at a consultation office.”

“Consultation office?” Ueki tilted his head.

“It’s called Spirits and Such.”

Ueki blinked, face blank for a moment, before he lifted his arms and dropped his jaw in shock, “You mean like ghosts!?”

Shigeo blinked. Ueki wasn’t an esper, but he still had that weird energy. Shigeo had assumed he had known about spirits. “Mmhm.”

Ueki placed his thumb on his chin and crossed his arms in thought, “Well, that does explain the old lady this morning…”

“Huh?”

“She was really cold to be around and kind of see-through, and didn’t make much sound except when she spoke,” Ueki explained as if those qualities were normal in people. “I just thought it would be rude to point it out when she needed help.”

Shigeo felt a little lost. That was very obviously a ghost. “Oh.”

“That’s pretty cool, though! Do you think I can come by and watch one day?”

“I’ll… have to ask Shishou.” Shigeo really wouldn’t mind, but it was up to Reigen.

“Neat.” Then they reached the front gate. “Well, I’m off to get permission from the town committee, I’ll see you later!”

Shigeo nodded and watched him rush off down the street, hoping Ueki wouldn’t run into any more ghosts. They could be dangerous.

He checked his phone and had a bit of time before he had to be at the office, so he started looking up facts about trees. Ueki really liked them. Maybe gardening would be fun?

* * *

“Shishou, do you garden?”

“Hmm…” Reigen sat back in his chair, reading yesterday’s newspaper. He peeks over the paper, “I used to have a plastic one. Why?”

“Um... “ Shigeo looked at his lap. “I have a friend that likes to garden, and I wanted to see if I could get some advice on it? Oh.” He looked up. “And he wanted to know if he could come watch us work sometime, so I said I’d ask… Shishou? You’ll catch flies like that.”

Reigen’s mouth had dropped open, the paper drooping in his hands, but at Shigeo’s words, he clicked his teeth together and coughed into his hand. “Y-You made a friend, Mob?”

Shigeo nodded, “He’s new to Seasoning City. He’s in my class.” He thinks he should probably keep Ueki’s abilities a secret, just in case Ueki didn’t want anyone to know.

“Really now…” Reigen tapped his fingers on his desk. “Why does he want to come watch us?”

“He thought it was cool we exorcise ghosts.”

“Wh—He did? Wait, did you tell him about your powers?’

Shigeo nodded. It was his secret to tell, after all. “He didn’t mind them.” Maybe Ueki would like some advice from Shishou, too?

“Hmmm....” Reigen steepled his fingers and hid his nose behind them. “What’s his name?”

“Ueki Kosuke.”

“Ueki… Hmmm....” Reigen furrowed his brows and stared at Mob. Mob stared back, hoping Shishou would agree. Reigen eventually grunted and sighed. “Okay, Mob. He can come by, but make sure he knows to stay out of the way of work.”

“Ah,” Shigeo nodded readily. “Thank you, Shishou.”

Reigen waves him off, then pauses, staring off into space for a moment before turning to Shigeo with interested eyes, “Now what’s this about gardening…?”

* * *

“I got permission! Are you free today, Kageyama?” Ueki tells him at lunch the next day. They had decided to eat in the hall beside the large windows showing the sky instead of the classroom. Shigeo hadn’t ever thought about eating his lunch in the hall before.

“That’s good! I still have my job today.”

“You’re going to find ghosts today? Can I come? We can try planting on your off days!”

Shigeo nodded, and was happy to have some good news, “Shishou said you could come, but be careful while we’re working.”

Ueki nodded seriously, “I won’t get in the way.”

Shigeo didn’t think he would, but at least Shishou would let him stay.

“Nii-san!”

Shigeo turned instinctively at the familiar voice. Ritsu walked down the hall with a wave, looking at him and Ueki, “Ah, who is this?”

“Th-This is my friend, Ueki,” Shigeo explained.

“Yo,” Ueki waved, “you’re Kageyama’s little brother? But that makes you also Kageyama…” Ueki scrunched up his face. “But I can’t call you both Kageyama…”

“People call me Mob,” Shigeo shrugged. He thought he might have told Ueki that before.

Ueki drops his fist into his hand, as if he had an idea, “Ah! Can I call you Shigeo?”

Shigeo thought he might have heard his brother choke, but he looked at Ueki and nodded slowly. “Ah… yes?”

“Cool! You can call me Kosuke, then.” Ueki—Kosuke—held out his hand to Ritsu, “I’m Ueki Kosuke, it’s good to meet Shigeo’s brother!”

“Uhm… yes, it’s nice to meet you.” Ritsu takes Kosuke’s hand rather awkwardly. “Ah, I should get going, though. We’re doing check-ins with the clubs today.”

“Clubs?” Kosuke lifted his head and leaned forward, “Do you have a gardening club?”

“Sorry,” Ritsu shook his head. “Salt Middle does an annual clean-up trip to the river, though, and we usually tend to the flowers at the park if time permits?”

“Sounds fun!” Kosuke smiled. “I’ll definitely join in!”

“That’d be appreciated…” Ritsu squinted at Kosuke.”... So how long have you been friends with my brother?”

“We met… a few days ago?” Kosuke tilted his head. “Yeah.”

“Do you… like spending time with Nii-san?”

Shigeo blinked, confused by Ritsu’s tone.

Kosuke just nodded, “Shigeo’s fun to hang out with! We’re going to go plant trees this weekend. Want to come?”

Ritsu squinted, and let go of Kosuke’s hand. “No thank you, I’m not that interested in gardening.” He turned to Shigeo and smiled, “I’ll see you later, Nii-san. I’ve got to get back to the student council.”

“Yeah, see you, Ritsu,” Shigeo waved as his brother walked away. He wasn’t quite sure what just happened.

“Your brother is cool,” Kosuke says.

Shigeo nods. “Ritsu is cool.”

They looked at each other at the same time, and Kosuke grinned at him, “Bet you I can finish eating before you!” Then he started stuffing his face.

Shigeo floundered to try and tell him he could choke if he ate that fast—and then Kosuke started choking, and Shigeo hastily handed him his juice. Kosuke drank it just as quickly, but thankfully didn’t choke again, and sighed in relief when it was all gone.

“Thanks, Shigeo, think I almost died there.” Kosuke looked at the rest of his food, then at his empty drink. “... Maybe I’ll save it for later.”

Shigeo smiled. He’d never had a friend thank him like that before. Or a friend he could introduce to his brother. Or… a friend.

“Thank you, Kosuke.”

“Hm? For what?” Kosuke tilted his head, but the bell rang, attracting his attention. “Lunch over already? Well, let’s get back to class, Shigeo.”

Shigeo nodded and packed up his lunch, and once again, the two of them set off to class.

Shigeo waited beside the door once more as Kosuke once again scribbled into his notebook the last of the teacher’s notes and words. Looking at him made Shigeo feel as if he should put more effort into studying. He wondered what drove Kosuke to study so hard—Shigeo didn’t have anything he particularly wanted to study for. School was just school.

“There you are!”

Shigeo jumped, but quickly turned to see someone bent over by the door, as if they had just been running. The student looked up, “You’re Kageyama, right? I was looking all over for you. Can you come with me? It’s urgent.”

The boy grabbed his hand and tried to tug him from the doorway. Shigeo kept his feet telekinetically connected to the floor, “Ah, um, sorry, I’m waiting on someone.”

“Huh? You’re in the going-home club, aren’t you?”

“Uhm…”

“Thanks for waiting, Shigeo.”

Shigeo looked up, thankful that Kosuke had finished. “Ah, you’re welcome.” 

Kosuke blinked at the student who was still holding his hand. “Are you a friend of Shigeo’s?”

“Ah, you’re the new kid, right? N-Nevermind!” The student grabbed Kosuke’s hand, too, and started pulling them both down the hall when Shigeo let his feet disconnect from the floor.

“Woah! Where are we going?”

“It’s important, so come with me, please!”

Shigeo shared a look with Kosuke, but neither of them tried to get out of the boy’s grip. Shigeo wondered what was so important that he was needed. The other students hadn’t shown this much interest in him before.

He checked his watch. Shishou would need him soon, too, and he was going to bring Kosuke today.

He hoped this wasn’t going to take too long.


	3. Planty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I WAS GONNA POST THIS YESTERDAY BUT I FORGOT!! So far I think the schedule's gonna be on the third and twentieth of every month, CST. Thank you to everyone that's read thus far~

Shigeo stood beside Kosuke, facing the four students in the messy, junk filled room, and wondered if he should call Shishou. 

“Please, join our club! We only need one more member to stay!” The girl, who had introduced herself as Kurata Tome, held out the sign-up form with her head bowed, the other three guys doing the same.

“What kind of club is it?” Kosuke asked, tilting his head. Shigeo wondered the same thing. He was also glad he wasn’t facing these pushy people alone.

“We’re the Telepathy Club!” Kurata stood and started gesturing wildly. “Our goal is to learn telepathy!”

“Telepathy?” Kosuke held his chin in thought. “Why?”

“So that we can send a signal and meet the aliens from outer space,” she replied with sparkles in her eyes. Shigeo thought it was silly. Kosuke’s mouth fell open.

“Whoah, aliens!?”

“Yes, all you have to do is fill out this form here—”

“I don’t want to join the club, though.”

Kurata spun and faced Shigeo instead, “How about you? You’re Mob, right? You always go home after school, don’t you think it’ll be fun to join?”

“Um… I have a part-time job I need to be at by four thirty.” He shook his head. “I can’t join. Sorry.” He had been wondering what he could be doing with himself lately… but meeting Kosuke gave him something he looked forward to. He didn’t really feel like joining the club.

“You have a part time job, Kageyama?”

“Mmhm, as an exorcist.”

“Yeah! I was gonna go learn about ghosts today!” Kosuke crossed his arms. “We can’t join the club, sorry.”

“G-G-Ghosts?” Kurata stuttered.

“That’s right!” The boy that dragged them there stepped forward, “I remember now! All in grade school—bending spoons and making things fly! Kageyama’s an esper!”

Kurata’s jaw dropped. Shigeo fidgeted under their stares.

Kosuke tilted his head, “Is that a big deal?”

“Of course it is!” Kurata once again held out the form. “Kageyama, please, you could be the key to communicating with extraterrestrial life! Join our club and help us!”

“Sorry, I won’t.”

“Me either.”

Kurata pulled at her hair in frustration. Then she turned around and started to cry.

“F-fine then! Just crush our dreams and let us get kicked out!”

Shigeo lifted his hands placatingly, unsure of what to do. He never liked dealing with crying people. “K-Kurata-chan…”

“Hey, I know!” Kosuke lifted his head with an idea. “How about we become the gardening club?”

“Like hell!” Kurata exclaimed. She really didn’t like the idea.

“Gardening…?”

“Yeah, I don’t like plants that much…”

Kosuke’s shoulders slumped in defeat, and he pouted “We’d have a lot of fun, though…”

“Excuse me.”

Shigeo almost leapt in the air again. How are so many people sneaking up on him lately? It was making him nervous.

Behind them was the student council vice president, and behind the vice president were several muscled men of varying sizes. The vice president proceeded to introduce them as the Body Improvement Club. Shigeo thought he should be freaking out a little, with the number of intense people surrounding him… but Kosuke was beside him, just watching everyone talk with each other, and it helped to keep him calmer than he would have been.

Shigeo again thought he liked being around Kosuke.

“Are you two really going to join this club? You should reconsider your choices.”

“Um…” Shigeo thought he should say something. He didn’t want to join the Telepathy Club.

“Hey!”

Kosuke spoke loud enough that he caught the attention of everyone in the room. He walked up to the muscled students, expression serious, and asked, “Do you guys run?”

“Ah, interested are you? It’s part of our everyday routine!”

Kosuke turned to Shigeo, “Shigeo I wanna join the Body Improvement Club.”

Shigeo nodded. “You like running?”

Kosuke smiled, “I love it!”

Kurata slumped into a chair in defeat.

“If you wish to join a club, you need to fill out the membership form and turn it in to the student council,” the vice president told him, and Kosuke nodded.

Then he slapped his cheek.

“Wait! We were going to your job, weren’t we!?”

Shigeo quickly checked the time, startled to find out it was already nearly four. How long had they been here?

“Ah, Shishou will be looking for me! We should go.”

“I’ll turn in my form later! Let’s go, Shigeo!”

He and Kosuke managed to escape the cluster of people and start down the hall.

“You aren’t in any clubs then, Shigeo?”

Shigeo shook his head, “I don’t know what I want to do, really…”

Kosuke hummed and nodded, “Sometimes you have to try a lot of things before you can find out what you like.”

“Try a lot of things?”

“Yeah! You never know until you try!”

Shigeo had heard that advice before, but coming from Kosuke it made him think. He always thought he didn’t have a lot of interests… but maybe that was because he hadn’t tried enough things?

What would he try, though? There were so many clubs and afterschool activities people did. He looked at Kosuke, who hummed to himself as they walked through the front gates. Kosuke liked running. Did he find that out by joining a club? Shigeo thought he’d rather like to stick with Kosuke.

“Could… Could I join the Body Improvement Club, too?”

Kosuke looked at him and smiled, “Yeah! We can be running buddies!”

Running buddies… Shigeo didn’t even know if he liked to run, but he could try with Kosuke and see. He nodded.

He would have to tell Shishou he had joined a club, so they could change his hours.

* * *

Shigeo opened the door, Kosuke right behind him. The office was quiet, except for Shishou, muttering at his desk.

“You’ve got this, you’re the great Reigen Arataka! It’s just Mob’s friend, that’s all, you can handle two kids—”

“Shishou? We’re here.”

“This place is kinda shady…” Kosuke scratched the back of his head, though he didn’t look nervous. Shigeo felt a little nervous, though.

“Ah! Mob! And…” Shishou’s eyes drifted to Kosuke. “... wow your hair is green.”

“Sure is.” Kosuke nodded.

Reigen squinted at him, walking around the desk, as they set their school bags on the couch. He held his chin and hummed. “So, you’re Ueki?”

“Yup. You’re Shigeo’s shishou?” Kosuke mimicked Reigen’s pose. “What can you do?”

“I’m Reigen Arataka, the greatest psychic of this century.”

“Greatest?” Kosuke hummed. “So… you’re really strong then?”

“Of course I am. Tell him, Mob!”

Shigeo sighed. “Shishou has me do the exorcisms because if he used his power, he would cause more damage than help.”

“Why do you gotta put it like that…”

“So you’re  _ really  _ strong,” Kosuke nodded and grinned. “That’s cool! I can’t even sense your power!”

Reigen made a strange sound, but coughed into his fist, “Good, so you understand—wait you can sense power?”

“Yup.”

“So, you’re a psychic too?”

“Nope.”

“... then what are you?”

“Uhh…” Kosuke started sweating. “An… alien.”

“An alien.” Shishou repeated.

“Yup.”

“Right, then.” Reigen turned, and waved his hand around in the same way he did an exorcism, as if to dispel the conversation. “Okay, boys, we’ve got a job to do today! Our client came to me earlier and asked us to take a look at one of her apartments. Every resident that’s moved in has left in a week or less, and she suspects a supernatural cause. Mob!”

“Ah.” Shigeo stood straighter. “Yes!”

“We’re going to investigate, and if there is a spirit, I’ll need you to melt it, got it?”

“Yes, Shishou.”

“Ueki!”

“Sir!” Kosuke saluted.

“You’re going to keep out of the way. Don’t need you getting possessed.”

Kosuke pouted, “Yes, sir…”

“Good. Now, let’s go get a taxi!”

Shishou was nearly run over by the first taxi, and it rushed past in a blur, but hailed the second without any issues. They climbed in, Shishou told the driver the address, and then sat in silence for a while. Shishou tapped his feet and drummed his fingers on his arm in the seat to Shigeo’s right.

“So,” Shishou broke the silence. “You go to the same school as Mob?”

“Yup.” Kosuke nodded, watching the city pass by outside the window to Shigeo’s left. “Moved here last week.”

“Moved, huh? What made you move during the middle of the year?”

Shigeo tensed, and glanced at Kosuke. He couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but he remembered the last time Kosuke brought up his sister, and the taxi driver might be in danger if he got emotional—

Kosuke blinked and stared at Shishou. “Family.”

Shishou nodded.

Shigeo slowly unwound and remembered what happened as soon as Kosuke realized he’d showed up beside the river—how he’d made his power disappear and fixed the damage caused. Kosuke wasn’t an esper, and he had a lot more control on his power than Shigeo did. Shigeo chanced another glance at Ueki, who had returned to staring out the window, and wondered if he was feeling sad. Maybe they should go back to the river after his job.

“Mob said you liked plants?”

Kosuke nodded his head vigorously. “The school doesn’t have a gardening club, and it’s kinda late to start one, so Shigeo and I are going to plant trees in the park this weekend!” He looked excited, and Shigeo smiled. He hadn’t planted trees before, but it might be fun, with Kosuke showing him how.

“Trees, huh? So you’ve got a green thumb?”

Kosuke looked at his thumbs, “Do I? I always thought they were normal…”

“Just an expression, kid.”

“Oh.” Kosuke looked at Shigeo. “Is he always this nosy?”

“What? I’m not—you answered the questions!”

“Because you asked.”

“That’s how people get to know each other, isn’t it!?”

“We just met, though.”

Shigeo hid his face in his hands. Maybe Kosuke  _ was  _ upset. They continued to argue over his head, but Kosuke wasn’t tensing up, and Shishou was just acting like he usually did… so maybe it was okay?

Shigeo hoped it was okay.

* * *

“It’s right this way!” The landlady led them up a flight of stairs, to a door at the end of the hall in her apartment complex. Shigeo thought it was a really fancy apartment complex. The lady kept looking at Shishou with squinted eyes, and at him and Kosuke with a frown. She stopped and unlocked the door, and turned to them. “Are you sure you’re capable of doing this…?”

“Of course!” Reigen waved his hand around before pointing to himself. “We’re capable of dealing with any supernatural problems you may have.”

“Right,” the lady said slowly, before glancing at the door. “I’ll be in my office. Please try not to disturb the other residents, and come see me when you’re done.”

“Of course.”

She walked away quickly. They watched her go, heels clicking down the hall.

“She seemed nervous.” Kosuke commented.

“Alright, Mob, do you sense anything?”

Shigeo turned toward the door and focused, spreading out his senses. He could feel Kosuke’s aura, contained tighter than it had been that day by the river. Shishou was, as always, beyond his sensing ability. There was a faint feeling of… sadness in the room, as if something had happened there before. It made his chest hurt. In that sadness was a little spark of what he knew to be a spirit’s presence.

“Yes,” Shigeo nodded, “but it feels really weak…”

“No problem, then. Ueki, stay behind us.”

Kosuke nodded seriously and stood behind Shigeo, while Reigen took the lead. He opened the door and stepped inside, like he was strolling into the office. Shigeo followed behind, though he glanced back to make sure Kosuke was there.

The room was unfurnished, though there was a potted plant in one corner, and the large window let the sun light up the room, even without flipping the light switch. It was a two room apartment, but it was a big one.

Kosuke wandered beside Shigeo, frowning, “It’s dark in here.”

“What are you talking about? The sun’s right there.” Shishou muttered, pacing up to the window and looking out. “It’s a lot better than my place…”

Shigeo didn’t know what to say, so he started looking for the spirit. The feeling of sadness had gotten stronger, but it didn’t feel like a typical upset spirit. There wasn’t any malice in it… instead, it felt like those days Shishou had several cups of coffee, even in the afternoon. Very excited and kind of nervous.

“Well, how is it, Mob?”

“The spirit’s in here… but I’m not sure where.” He muttered, looking around the empty walls. “There’s too much emotion in here.”

Reigen nodded, “Mmhm, exactly what I was thinking. We’re going to have to lure it out, then.” Shishou pulled a wadded up plastic bag out of his pocket, “Which is why I brought this.”

“A plastic bag?” Kosuke asked.

“What’s  _ in  _ the plastic bag,” Shishou sighed, unrolling the bag and pulling out…

“A squeaky toy?”

“I did some research on the residents before the haunting started,” he shrugged, “I found out one of the previous residents had a lot of animals. A lot of the people who complained talked about hearing barking and growling. So,” he squeezed the toy, and it let out a wheezing squeak, “Doggie toy. Fetch!”

He threw the toy at the wall. It bounced off and hit the floor with a short whine. Nothing happened.

“The spirit didn’t come out.” Shigeo said.

“I think you did it wrong,” Kosuke scratched his head.

“Quiet, he just needs a little motivation, is all!” Shishou waved his arm around, then bent over and picked up the toy again. “Hey there, little doggie! Doesn’t this look entertaining?” He squished the toy several times. “You want the toy, pup? You want it? Go get it!”

He threw it once again, at the same wall. 

Nothing happened.

“Maybe we should try something else,” Shigeo suggested.

Reigen threw his hands in the air, “Any ideas, Mob?”

“What if we just…” Kosuke crouched to the floor and held out his hand to a random corner of the room. “Hey, little guy, we’re not gonna hurt you. We can play, if you want?”

“What did I tell you about doing things?” Shishou muttered, but Shigeo’s attention was drawn to one side of the room, where the cloud of emotions were starting to condense. Had Kosuke drawn it out?

“There ya go, it’s okay,” Kosuke muttered, keeping his hand steady.

Shigeo watched as, before their eyes, a little, floppy-eared, see-through puppy appeared. It trotted up slowly and sniffed Kosuke’s hand. Then it barked, echoing loudly around the empty room, and leapt at Kosuke.

Kosuke fell back on his butt and laughed, and the ghost puppy licked his face. “See? He was just scared!”

“Aliens can speak dog?” Shishou asked.

“Uh…” Kosuke opened his mouth, but the puppy jumped out of his arms and started running around the room, barking at all three of them and hopping through the air. Shigeo thought it was cute.

“Well, that problem’s solved!” Shishou picked up the squeaky toy and tossed it, watching the dog chase after it. “Finally. Okay, so, uh... “ He paused. “What do we do with a dog?”

None could answer, because the puppy suddenly started growling. It looked right past Kosuke’s shoulders. Shigeo followed it’s sight. Now that the sadness was gone, he could feel a darker aura emanating from the same corner. Had this spirit hidden behind the puppy’s? It was scarier.

And it was right behind Kosuke.

“Kosuke!”

He reached out with his power, ready to block the spirit from touching his friend, but he was too slow. The shadowy malice leapt at Kosuke, and sank into his body.

Kosuke twitched and made a constipated face. He grabbed the area over his chest, yanked, and tossed the darkness that manifested in his hand at the potted plant.

Shishou’s mouth fell open, but Shigeo ran up to Kosuke and asked, “Are you okay?”

“Huh?” Kosuke tilted his head. “Yeah. Did you guys suddenly get a weird stomach ache?”

“Did you just throw that spirit… into the plant?” Shishou asked slowly. Shigeo, glad that Kosuke was alright, turned to the plant. There was an aura of malice inside of it… but it was held there by a piece of what Shigeo thought must be Kosuke’s energy. The angry spirit thrashed around, and the potted plant wobbled. The puppy walked up and sniffed it, but only barked once before returning to Shishou’s squeaky toy.

“What spirit?” Kosuke asked.

“You know what? Nevermind. Mob, squash the plant.”

“What!?” Kosuke suddenly yelled and leapt at the plant, wrapping himself around the ceramic pot. “No!”

“What do you mean, no? It’s possessed!”

“I don’t care! Don’t hurt the plant!”

“What are you gonna do, take it home!?”

Kosuke paused and tilted his head. “Actually, I think I can take it and the puppy to the old lady’s garden. She’d like the company.”

“Oh yeah,” Shigeo nodded. “You’re still helping her?”

“Yup,” Kosuke smiled, “But I still keep tripping on the dirt.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Shishou stuck his hand out and flopped it around. “What’s this about a garden? Old lady?”

“I met this old ghost lady my first day of school,” Kosuke shrugged. “Now I help her garden in the abandoned house beside our apartment. The ground is uneven.”

Reigen’s hand drooped in front of him, and he blinked several times before he shook his head. “You know what? Take the plant, you little green alien.”

“Yay!” Kosuke stood up and lifted the potted plant above his head. The puppy barked and jumped around him in circles. “Hear that, Barky? You get to come home with me!”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s just get our fee and get out of here. I’m starting to feel cheap in this place…”

The landlady was happy to have the problem resolved and wrote Shishou a check, though she deducted the price of the plant. The three of them left the complex and stood on the side of the road. Shigeo, his master, and Kosuke with a potted plant held on his head, a ghost dog at his heels.

“... can we even bring those in the taxi?”

Kosuke shrugged.

Shishou hailed the taxi anyway.

The driver nearly swerved into oncoming traffic when the ghost puppy barked from the backseat. Kosuke quickly got it to hush, and Shigeo was glad Kosuke could handle and defend against spirits.

Shigeo thought the job went well. Shishou still drank three cups of coffee within twenty minutes of returning to the office.


	4. Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh darnit I missed the second again. Schedules are hard. Funnily enough, I thought it was Monday. Where did the second even go? Anyway, here’s the new chapter! I hope you enjoy!

“Fight! ON! Fight! ON!”

Shigeo thought running was  _ exhausting.  _

He heaved for breath, sweat soaking his gym clothes, as the rest of the club jogged far ahead of him. He couldn’t keep up. His legs felt like jelly, his heart like a drum, and his head light as a feather.

“Shigeo, you should slow down.”

“Hu-uh?” Shigeo glanced to his side. Kosuke wasn’t struggling—not like Shigeo was—but he was working up a sweat. He slowed. Shigeo slowed with him, until their club mates were far, far ahead of them.

“You don’t have to keep up with them immediately,” Kosuke said. Shigeo wondered how he wasn’t gasping for air. “Find your own pace and work your way up. You won’t get the full advantage if you pass out. Besides, passing out isn’t fun.” Kosuke made a face. Shigeo wondered what experience Kosuke had with fainting.

He listened, however, and began to slow down, until he was lightly jogging instead of following the long strides of their other members. Kosuke turned back to his own jog, matching his pace. Shigeo glanced at him, and found Kosuke smiling.

It was a happy smile, as if Kosuke genuinely enjoyed the work out and the feeling of breathlessness and muscle exhaustion. Shigeo couldn’t tell if he thought the same, yet, but… he didn’t think he hated the exercise. He’d never done anything like it in his life, not when his powers could do all of that for him, and working toward being fit felt… good.

Even if he felt like he was about to faint.

When they finally returned to the school, Shigeo collapsed on the front steps, completely spent. Their club mates greeted them with smiles and pats on the back, though Shigeo almost felt pummeled under their encouragement. Had he really done that well? He thought he’d been very, very slow.

But Kosuke had stuck with him without complaint and enjoyed himself, and Shigeo couldn’t say he disliked the feeling.

“Great job today, everyone!” They were told when club activities ended. “Time to hit the showers and head home!”

“SIR!”

“What a bunch of meat heads…” Kurata muttered. She and her friends still sat at the table in what had previously been the Telepathy club room, and was now the Body Improvement Club’s equipment room. “How do you guys stand it?”

“They’re all nice guys,” Kosuke defended. “Besides, you don’t judge books you haven’t read.”

“I… don’t think that’s how the saying goes, but it makes sense anyway.”

“Yeah? It’s what my dad says all the time.”

Kurata turned to Shigeo, “What about you, Mob? Don’t tell me you really like all that…” She gestured vaguely. “Sweat.”

Shigeo looked down at his shirt, pulling the soaked fabric away from his skin. He smelled, and he felt kind of icky, and he’d never drank this much water at once in his life, but for as tired as he was, he also felt energized. Like he had gotten something out of it, even if he couldn’t see it yet. “It’s fun.”

“Really? Awesome!” Kosuke cheered. Shigeo then stared at the fist Kosuke lifted in front of his eyes. “You did great, Shigeo. This is gonna be fun!”

Shigeo stared at Kosuke’s hand, unsure of what to do. Kosuke’s grin didn’t fade, even as Shigeo hesitated before returning the fist-bump awkwardly. 

“Ugh, bromance,” Kurata sighed, turning back to her game. She placed her piece down and stood, “Okay, guys, let's go home. It smells in here.”

Kurata’s club mates packed up their games and left the room, though there were still empty snack bags strewn across the table. Kosuke walked over to it as Shigeo scrubbed the towel through his hair again. He looked up when he heard a metallic crunch.

Kosuke was crushing the empty soda cans and sticking them into the snack bags, collecting them all and carrying them to his backpack. He stuffed it all in with his homework, and pulled out a change of clothes. 

“Do you recycle, Kosuke?”

“Something like that,” Kosuke nodded, picking up his bag and walking toward the door. “I’m going to get changed first, Shigeo! Do you want to go to the river this afternoon?”

Shigeo nodded.

“Cool! Be right back.”

Shigeo watched him go.

He sat back in the metal chair their club president had set out for him. He wondered if they could be considered friends, too… It wasn’t the same as his friendship with Kosuke, he thought. But they were all doing something they enjoyed together, so that meant they were friends, right?

Shigeo should ask next time. He was nervous. He didn’t know what he would do if he suddenly had that many friends.

Kosuke was a little different today, though. Not in how he acted—he was still the same Kosuke Shigeo had met at the river—but his aura was different. Duller. He looked like he had the first day they met. Shigeo worried that something had happened.

He finally pushed himself to his wobbly legs and went to change his clothes. Kosuke was waiting by the front gate when he returned.

“Sorry I made you wait,” Shigeo muttered.

Kosuke shrugged, “It’s no big deal. You ready?”

“Mmhm.”

The walk was silent, but Shigeo didn’t mind. Kosuke’s eyebrows were scrunched, like when he thought really hard, so Shigeo walked beside him and waited like he did after classes.

It was quiet when they got there. The river bubbled over the rocks, and the grass was slightly damp, but only a few people passed by on the sidewalk above. Kosuke flopped onto the grass, arms spread out, and Shigeo laid down a few feet away.

The sky was pink and orange. It was right around sunset, and as he watched the clouds float by, he felt himself relaxing. The stress and exhaustion sank away. He could sigh and let his swirling emotions slowly untangle themselves, pent up inside his heart as they were. He thought back to the last time they were here. Had it really just been a week? 

“Shigeo?” 

Shigeo played with the grass between his fingers. The whole hillside had something of a residual of Kosuke’s energy on it. It was nice.

“Yeah?”

“Do you ever get nightmares?”

Shigeo blinked. The word called to mind a certain incident, a certain feeling of lost control and his brother lying on the ground. 

“Yeah.” He said. He didn’t usually think about that time, but every now and then, it would show up in his dreams and wake him up, his entire room floating around in a small typhoon.

“They suck.”

“Mmhm.”

Kosuke hummed and stretched. It was quiet again, but now it was calmer. Shigeo thought Kosuke must be feeling a little better. He sat up and looked over.

Kosuke’s eyes were closed, snoring lightly through his nose.

He’d fallen asleep.

Shigeo sighed. Kosuke must have been tired. He thought, for a second, that Kosuke might be more comfortable in a bed—but then he noticed that the grass around the green-haired boy was slowly rising, softening the ground under him.

Kosuke wasn’t doing it on purpose. Shigeo could feel the lingering energy on the grass responding to Kosuke’s, trying to brighten it when it felt so dull. 

Shigeo had never seen anything like it. 

It was amazing.

It was…

The grass was trying to wrap Kosuke up.

“Ah, um, Kosuke!” He reached out and shook his friend’s shoulder.

Kosuke yawned, but didn’t wake up. Shigeo started to wave his arms around in panic. The grass was still growing. He needed to stop it, but how?

He needed to get Kosuke out of the grass.

“Kosuke!” He shook him a little harder, but still, Kosuke slept. Shigeo stood up and looked around—no one was around to help.

He took a deep breath. His limbs were still sore, and he still felt tired, but he reached down and grabbed Kosuke’s arms, pulling until they had torn free from the grass. He tried to drag Kosuke up the hill, but he hadn’t been in the club long enough to be that strong, so he pushed some of his energy into a backward motion.

Kosuke finally freed from the grass. It curled in, as if upset, and Shigeo felt a little bad, but he couldn’t have just left Kosuke to get consumed by the hillside. He floated Kosuke up the hill, along with their backpacks, and pushed his own under Kosuke’s head when he remembered all the uncomfortable cans in Kosuke’s.

He settled them both down on the sidewalk, singing in relief. He glanced at Kosuke. How tired was he? He hadn’t woken once during the entire ordeal, and continued to snore away.

Shigeo wondered if Kosuke had slept at all last night. He hadn’t noticed… but now that he looked a little closer at Kosuke’s face, he could see the bags developing under his eyes. Kosuke really needed sleep.

He flopped back onto the sidewalk, Kosuke’s bag under his own head, the cans clanging together. The sky was getting darker, a star glowing in the sky, leading the afternoon into night. The river still babbled, and despite the grass incident, Shigeo still felt himself calming down.

He decided to think.

Ever since he had met Kosuke, things had started to change. He had a friend. He had found a club to join. He wasn’t as nervous to say what he felt, even if he didn’t always express it. Kosuke helped a lot with that. 

His brother was talking to him more, asking about his day and school and his club. His mother sometimes asked him if he was having fun with his new friend. Shigeo always told her he was. And he meant it. Kosuke hung out with him and Shigeo… had fun. It was fun going on jobs with Kosuke, running with the others in the club, eating lunch together, listening to Kosuke and Shishou talk to each other. It made something warm grow inside of him.

He liked the feeling.

It was as if he could do anything.

But it also scared him. He still only barely knew how friendships worked, and how to hang out with friends. He was still learning, but having someone else around… made it less scary than the idea had been before. 

Shigeo was happy.

Kosuke woke up a little while later, yawning and drowsy, blinking blearily as he sat up. Shigeo sat up with him, and waited for Kosuke to notice him.

“Hm? Shigeo?” He glanced around. “Guess I fell asleep again. Why are we on the sidewalk?”

“Um… the grass…” Shigeo pointed down the hill. “It tried to swallow you.”

Kosuke looked to where they had been. The grass was still taller, but it had smoothed out a little bit since Shigeo had pulled Kosuke free. 

“Huh…” Kosuke scratched his head. “That’s new.”

Then he shrugged and turned back to Shigeo, “Sorry I fell asleep.”

“It’s okay. Did it help?”

Kosuke hummed, but nodded. “It did.”

Shigeo sighed in relief. “Are we still planting trees tomorrow?”

Kosuke immediately brightened and smiled, “Yes! I’ll meet you there around eight?”

“Sure.”

“Awesome.” Shigeo hopped to his feet and picked up his bag. “It got late fast. We should probably head home. I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

Shigeo nodded, and the two of them waved and separated on the sidewalk.

As he went home, he noticed something.

Kosuke’s strange energy was trailing after him, almost on its own. He wasn’t sure what that meant.

He hoped he wouldn’t wake up covered in grass.

* * *

He woke up early that Sunday, the day they’d decided to head to the park and plant Kosuke’s trees. He dressed in casual clothes he wouldn’t mind getting dirty and headed downstairs.

His mom was already cooking breakfast. She sat him down and gave him a glass of milk, which he drank happily. He was excited. Kosuke really liked gardening, and Shigeo wanted to try it out and see if he liked it, too. 

“You look more awake than usual this morning, Shigeo,” his mom commented.

Shigeo nodded, “I’m going to the park with Kosuke today.”

“The park, huh?” She placed a plate in front of him. “Just be careful and have fun! Don’t stay out too late today, you have school tomorrow.”

Shigeo shrunk in on himself and started eating. He had gotten home late last night. “Yes, ma’am.”

She ruffled his hair and went back to the stove. Ritsu slept in on weekends, so when Shigeo had finished and cleaned his dishes, he left the house and started toward the park.

The park was empty when he arrived, but Shigeo expected that. He was still a little early—it was turning into a habit, he thought, to leave early.

When Kosuke arrived, wagon with trees and a shovel and broom behind him, he smiled widely and waved. “Shigeo!”

Shigeo waved back, “Good morning, Kosuke.”

“‘Morning!” He pointed toward a corner of the park, where some plants were growing a little lonely, “We’re planting over there.” A bark followed his words, and Shigeo looked down. At Kosuke’s feet was the little dog they’d found in the apartment. “I brought Barky, too!”

Barky ran up to Shigeo and jumped around his legs. The dog spirit looked happy to see him, so Shigeo bent over and held out a hand. Barky sniffed it and then licked him—though Shigeo only got the sensation of something cold sliding over his hand.

The area they were allowed to plant, Kosuke explained, was eventually going to be remade into a picnic area. Right now there were only patchy spots of grass and a bench further toward the boundary of the park. Barky ran about and inspected the bench before settling underneath it, head on his paws and eyes watching Kosuke.

“The first thing to do is decide where to plant them,” Kosuke said, picking up one of the pots from the wagon and settling it on the ground. It was young, about two feet tall with spindly branches, settled in a pot of dark soil. “They told me to make sure to leave a wide center area, so they’ve gotta be far apart. When they grow up, they’ll give the place some shade.” Shigeo followed as they pulled the wagon around, helping Kosuke settle the pots around the park.

They placed them all, circling back to their original spot. Kosuke explained how deep they had to dig—so that the root clusters were just above the surface—and took the shovel to start.

“We can take turns with the shovel?” Kosuke asked, and Shigeo nodded. When it was his turn, Shigeo found out that Kosuke made it look easy. The dirt was packed tight, and even when he placed his shoe on the top of the spade, he could only dig up bits at a time. He hadn't realized just how strong Kosuke must be to do this often. Kosuke didn’t rush them, though. He went through every explanation and bit of work, from unpotting the soil to breaking up the roots to carefully patting down the soil around the base of the trunk with a smile on his face, humming when their work became quiet.

Shigeo thought the process was rather calming. It was hard, but not as much as the work in the Body Improvement Club. The dirt caked under his nails was worth it when they stood back and looked at their newly planted tree, ready to grow up big and tall like Kosuke said.

They put a lot of mulch on the mound of soil around the base—to make sure the soil stayed wet and cool, to keep weeds from growing around it, and to protect the roots—and moved on to the second tree.

They kept going until the sun was high. It was still warm, and by the time they took a break, Shigeo flopped onto the ground, wishing the trees were already big enough to give him some shade.

He stared at the sky, resting his arms and picking the dirt out from under his nails. A shadow fell over him, followed by an arm and a bottle.

“I got us some water,” Kosuke said. Shigeo took the bottle with a small thanks and relished in the cool drink.

Kosuke sat beside him, looking over their work and grinning, “So, do you like gardening?”

Shigeo pressed the cold bottle against his cheek and closed his eyes for a moment.

There was a certain energy around the area they’d been working. Shigeo didn’t know the words to explain it… but it felt warm and light, and like the perfect place for friends and family to relax and enjoy themselves. There was a lingering warmth that Shigeo had become familiar with from Kosuke’s energy, but mixed in were so many feelings and happiness.

He opened his eyes and took a breath to clear the emotions from his mind. He was doing that too much lately. He should be careful to keep away from the stronger emotions.

“I like it.” He finally replied. Kosuke had waited patiently for him. “It’s fun.”

Kosuke laughed and laid back on the ground. Shigeo followed. They watched the clouds pass by in silence. It was a comfortable silence. Shigeo wondered if he would have known comfortable silence with friends if he hadn’t met Kosuke.

He almost fell asleep, but Kosuke hopped back to his feet and said, “Okay, let’s finish up! We’re almost done, Shigeo!”

Shigeo rubbed at his eyes and woke himself back up, nodding along, “Mmhm.”

“After that we can go find some lunch.”

The mention of food made Shigeo realize just how long it had been since his mom had made him breakfast, and he pushed himself to his feet, ready to work.

It was around two when they finished, hungry and tired. Kosuke left his wagon and tools beside the park’s bike rack. Barky ran up and hopped inside, sitting with his head held high and tail wagging. 

“You gonna protect my wagon, Barky?”

Barky barked.

“We’ll play lots of fetch later, then!”

Barky’s tail wagged faster. Shigeo felt a little bad about leaving him there alone, but the puppy’s aura was determined, and… no one could really bother a ghost dog. So Barky stood guard while they went to get lunch.

The both of them found lunch at a Takoyaki stand, Shigeo happy to share one of his favorite foods with Kosuke. Kosuke paid for their food, after looking at the line and crowd of people and telling Shigeo to wait at the corner of the street. Shigeo was relieved. He didn’t like being surrounded by so many people. He was baffled by how much Kosuke could eat, however. The man at the stand didn’t seem to mind at all. 

Food finished, they began walking back toward the park when a woman in a mask and robe stopped them.

“My, you boys look like you had a hard day of work!”

Shigeo glanced at Kosuke. Kosuke glanced at him. Shigeo wasn’t sure what to do in this situation. 

“We planted trees in the park today.”

“My that must have been such grueling work, no wonder your faces are so long!”

It took Shigeo a long moment to remember that the sentence was an expression. When he did, he shrunk in on himself and felt his good mood draining away.

He’d almost forgotten, with Kosuke around, how his often-blank face came across to most people. Kosuke had never seemed to mind nor care—he never even called him Mob. Shigeo hadn’t realized how much he’d come to appreciate it.

Kosuke stepped forward, “It was fun, actually.” Shigeo kept his head down. Kosuke wasn’t smiling. His face was carefully blank in a way that was familiar to Shigeo. 

“O-oh? Pardon me, then… oh, but I do sense something in your heart. Perhaps you’re sad?”

Kosuke couldn’t sense any strong energy from the lady. She wasn’t a psychic, as far as he could tell. 

Kosuke didn’t seem to care either way. He crossed his arms and stared at the woman, “Sorry, can we get by?”

“Perhaps… family troubles?”

Kosuke reached out, took Shigeo’s hand, and went around the woman on the sidewalk. Shigeo followed quietly.

“W-wait! I know a way to take your mind off of all your problems!”

“Not interested,” Kosuke threw over his shoulder. The woman didn’t follow them further, but watched them go until they turned a corner. 

“Kosuke?”

Kosuke’s grip was careful, but it was tight. Shigeo was certain he knew why. 

“Hm?”

“We can stop now. She didn’t follow us.”

Kosuke suddenly halted and let go of his hand, and Shigeo stopped just short of bumping into him. His friend ruffled his own hair with both of his hands and grumbled, still facing away, “Sorry, Shigeo.

“It’s okay. She… was really rude.”

“Mmhm.”

They stood in silence, the street mostly empty. Kosuke didn’t say another word, and stared at the sidewalk with a serious expression. Shigeo wished he could say it was the same silence from earlier, but something wasn’t right this time. 

Shigeo didn’t like that woman. He hated that she pointed out his blank face, but he hated that she poked at Kosuke’s emotions even more. Shigeo knew what emotions were like. He knew how hard they were to keep under wraps. He remembered, what felt like ages ago, Kosuke sitting on the side of the river surrounded by dead grass.

Kosuke’s energy was frustrated in the same way it had been then. Shigeo wondered how he kept it all inside without bursting. 

He wondered if he should say something. What could he say? What did Kosuke need?

“Hey, you two!”

All at once, the bubble surrounding them popped. Shigeo jerked his head up to see a girl their age running toward them. He looked back and found Kosuke blinking at her, his energy settled back into its usual pattern.

Something still felt off. Shigeo decided he would think about what he should do later, and focused on the girl. 

She caught up to them, holding tightly to the camera hanging from her neck, eyes sharp as she looked them both over, though she only asked a question, “Have either of you seen any LOL cult members around here?”

“Any… who?”

“You haven’t heard?” She began poking at her camera. “There’s this new religious group around here that says they can make anyone happy. Of course, I think that’s fraud and probably hurting people, and I’m going to expose them.” She turned the camera so that they could see the screen. It was a photo of several people walking down the street—all in the same robes and masks as the woman they’d just met. 

She glanced at both of their faces, “Ring any bells?”

Shigeo looked at Kosuke. Kosuke tilted his head, “Why are you asking?”

“... I just told you,” she said slowly. “I need leads, so I can find and expose them. Do you know anything?”

“But you saw us talking to that lady, didn’t you?”

The girl paused, her mouth open, “Wha—How could you know that?”

“You were standing on the other side of the street taking pictures. It’s kinda rude to take pictures of people without their permission, you know.”

Shigeo looked between the two of them, confused. She had been watching them? Kosuke had noticed her? If she wanted to know about the cult, why come to them and not go to the lady?

The girl stared hard at Kosuke. Then she stuck out her hand, “I’m Mezato Ichi, head of Salt Middle School’s news club, second year.”

“Ueki Kosuke, member of the Body Improvement club, second year,” Kosuke replied, taking her hand. Then he gestured to Shigeo, “This is my friend.”

“K-Kageyama Shigeo.” He stuttered out, his simple introduction feeling a little inadequate. She nodded to the both of them anyway.

“Truth is, I feel like it might be too dangerous to investigate by myself. You two have seen firsthand what the cult is like—poking their noses into other people’s business.” Shigeo didn’t know how to say she was doing something pretty similar. “We’re grade mates, even if we aren’t in the same class. How about lending me a hand to stop some bad guys?”

“Sure.”

“K-Kosuke—“

Kosuke looked at him. Shigeo closed his mouth. Kosuke hadn’t given that expression before—like he was angry. Really, actually angry. “They’re doing something bad, right? I won’t let them get away with hurting people.”

Shigeo didn’t know what to say. Kosuke held his gaze for a moment longer before his expression smoothed, like the anger had never been there in the first place.

“Could you go get Barky and the wagon and wait for me at the park, Shigeo? We’ll be right back.”

Shigeo swallowed. 

“You don’t have to worry about me or Mezato, we’ll be fine.”

“I can take care of myself, thank you.” Mezato harrumphed.

Shigeo could imagine, before he met Kosuke, that he would agree to waiting. He would say okay, get the wagon, and wait. 

But… Kosuke was his friend. His first friend, and someone Shigeo hated to see upset. Especially after the day they’d spent together, peacefully planting trees in the park.

Shigeo poked at the bubble of emotions in his mind and, frighteningly, discovered that he was angry, too.

He didn’t want Kosuke to go alone.

“I… I’m coming too.”

Kosuke blinked. Then he grinned, sharper than he usually did, “Thanks, Shigeo.”

Shigeo didn’t want Kosuke to face anger that scary alone.

“Well, if you two are done gazing into each other’s souls...” Mezato said. Shigeo wasn’t sure what she meant by that. “I’ve got a conspiracy to uncover. Hop to it!”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Find me on tumblr @hadrian-pendragons  
> Twitter: @hadrian_pen
> 
> I'd love to scream about either series


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